WaPo piece, with the subhead: “A pastor, a publicist and a political activist tried to pressure an election worker to falsely confess to voter fraud. They, along with Trump, now face criminal charges in Georgia.” More:
Sitting on the stage of an evangelical church for a fundraiser held in his honor, the Rev. Stephen Lee spoke about the criminal charges he faces in Georgia for allegedly trying tohelp Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election. Bathed in purple light, the 71-year-old said he would not accept a plea deal, as four of his co-defendants have.
“I’m not going to plead out to a lie,” Lee said Thursday. “I’m not going to cooperate with evil. I’m not going to do something that is going to eat away or destroy our First Amendment rights. … This is the Lord’s battle, and we’ve got to fight it.”
Lee is accused of conspiring with the hip-hop publicist Trevian Kutti and former Trump campaign staffer Harrison Floyd to try to coerce a Georgia election worker into falsely confessing to helping rig the 2020 election for Joe Biden.
This unlikely trio are among the least-known Trump supporters facing charges in Fulton County. Their indictments show how Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election pulled in Americans from many walks of life — not just elected officials and high-powered lawyers, but also low-level campaign staffers and ordinary supporters.
Even as more-prominent defendants, including lawyers Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, have pleaded guilty in the case, these threehave signaled that they arewilling to stand by the former president as he continues to claim falsely that the 2020 election was stolen, even if that means facing prison time. Theyhave become inspirations to Trump’s most ardent fans, especially as they continue to fundraise to pay their lawyers.